The firm has revealed that 58% of landlords are worried about the level of regulation required in relation to the running of their property business this year.
Regulation may be on the way for the sector with the Government recently concluding a consultation on the launch of a national mandatory registration scheme for landlords and HM Treasury (HMT) currently consulting on whether the FSA remit should be extended to regulate the buy-to-let sector
Regulation may tighten buy-to-let product availability and increase the cost of mortgages so it is not surprising that regulation tops the list of landlords’ concerns for the yea, according to John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages.
He said: ‘Regulation can also impact landlords indirectly. Any extra costs are likely to be passed on to the ultimate end user – the tenant – and could price the private rented sector out of the reach of some of the more vulnerable households. This must be avoided. Employing a good managing agent can help but individual landlords have ultimate responsibility to ensure that they are complying with the necessary rules and regulations.”
With buy-to-let lending levels subdued and mortgage product availability limited, landlords also expressed concerns about how they will fund property purchases in 2010, with 37% stating that they were worried about this.
Other concerns included retaining tenants (32%), finding tenants (31%), tenant disputes (24%), and meeting mortgage payments (12%).
